The Doctors column: Stay healthy when you travel

A vacation or weekend road trip doesn’t have to entirely derail your diet. With some planning, you can eat well and stay healthy even while you travel.

Pack in portions: Eat straight from the big boxes and bags, and you’ll likely eat too much. Instead, separate snacks into single-serving baggies before heading out, suggests the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and choose foods that will fuel you with protein, fiber and healthy carbohydrates, such as unsalted nuts, dried fruit, whole-grain crackers, precut raw veggies or plain popcorn.

Consider fast food over sit-down meals: An adult entree, side dish and shared appetizer weighs in at about 1,495 calories, according to researchers who analyzed more than 2,600 menu items from a variety of popular sit-down spots. That same meal combination contained approximately 28 grams of saturated fat and more than 3,500 mg of sodium. Add a drink and split a dessert and you surpass the federally recommended 2,000 calories a day for adults. Meanwhile, at one popular fast-food eatery, you can get a large cheeseburger and small fries for 750 calories.

Wear your walking shoes when traveling: If they are already on your feet, then it’s that much easier to sneak in some calorie-burning, weight-maintaining, energy-boosting steps during your pit stops. Take frequent breaks from driving to stretch and stroll in and around the rest stop; if you’re traveling by plane, do a few brisk laps around the terminal while you wait to board